Fluid control components are used to control the delivery of a fluid (i.e., a gas or liquid) in industrial processes. For example, in semiconductor processing equipment, a variety of fluid control components are configured in a "gas stick", which precisely controls the delivery of various fluids during semiconductor processing.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art gas stick 20. The gas stick 20 includes a set of fluid control components joined by multiple welds and fittings. One fluid control component depicted in FIG. 1 is a shut-off valve 22. A pipe section 26 links the shut-off valve 22 to a sleeve or fitting 28 associated with a manual pressure regulator 24. The manual pressure regulator 24 has a fitting 30 on its opposite side for connection with a pipe section 32. Pipe section 32 is connected to a fitting 36 associated with a pressure transducer 34. The opposite side of the pressure transducer 34 also has a fitting 38 for connection with another pipe section. The remaining components in the figure are similarly configured with fittings for attachments to pipe sections. By way of example, the remaining fluid control components in FIG. 1 include a shut-off valve/purge device 42, a mass flow controller 44, and a shut-off valve 46. The gas stick 20 is attached to a substrate 50. Other gas sticks (not shown) may also be attached to the substrate to form a gas panel.
Those skilled in the art recognize a number of problems associated with prior art gas sticks of the type illustrated in FIG. 1. First, the multiple fittings and pipe sections need to be welded or otherwise secured to one another. The assembly of these components can be relatively labor intensive. Similarly, the disassembly of these components for repair or replacement can be extremely labor intensive.
Another problem associated with the gas stick 20 is that the numerous fittings and pipe sections produce a relatively long and heavy device. The attachment of the gas stick 20 to a substrate 50 also produces problems since the entire gas stick 20 must be removed from the substrate 50 in order to effectuate a repair of the gas stick 20.
Efforts to alleviate these problems have resulted in the use of square blocks on which fluid control components are mounted. A fluid control component is mounted on each block and the blocks are attached in a serial manner. Each square block typically has a set of threaded holes on one side of the block and a set of through holes on an opposite side of the block. The threaded holes and the through holes allow the block to be unidirectionally positioned with respect to a similarly configured block. The unidirectional nature of the connection means that an input port associated with a block cannot be used as an output port and vice versa.
Existing square mounting blocks are relatively heavy. In addition, the configuration of threaded holes and through holes dictate that the blocks be used in a unidirectional manner. Another problem with existing square mounting blocks is that they are not easily attached to a substrate. Furthermore, their configuration precludes or limits access to individual fluid control components which need to be repaired or replaced. It would be highly desirable to improve access to individual fluid control components so that such components could be repaired or replaced without disassembly of an entire gas stick.